This brief Report aims to enumerate the tools that are nowadays used for hostile electoral interference and how they can be countered. It consists of 35 measures in 15 steps for enhancing the resilience of the democratic electoral process. The report by our Kremlin Watch Programme is available in PDF. Číst dále →

European Values Think-Tank presents a comprehensive review of shifts in strategic & policy documents of EU28 following Russian aggression against Ukraine. The purpose of this review is to map out the EU member states’ positions on Russia based on the latest national strategies, reports and official statements on foreign and security policy. The Kremlin Watch Report is available in PDF. Číst dále →

European Values Think-Tank presents a new Kremlin Watch Report, authored by Ilyas Sharibzhanov, Analyst of the Kremlin Watch Programme. Mass media in Russia have changed significantly since the days of President Yeltsin and the contrast with the free and independent media in Russia of just 20 years ago has been ever so evident for the past three years, with Russia’s media turning from a market into a state-organized system of propaganda machine. The document analyses these changes and is available in PDF. Číst dále →

As part of the development of the Beacon Project’s ICT data collection tool, IRI conducted its first case study on the way Angela Merkel is portrayed in some of the most popular articles and social media in Central and Eastern Europe (specifically Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary). The study was conducted with the Beacon Project’s core partners in the respective countries Globsec Policy Institute (Slovakia), European Values Think Tank (Czech Republic), and Political Capital Institute (Hungary). Access the full PDF here. Číst dále →

The Kremlin Watch Team monitors on weekly basis scientific publications in the field of disinformation and hostile Russian influence. The following reader brings you the most interesting analyses in this area, which we read in the year 2016. The reader can serve as a tool for acquiring a broader view on the subject, though of course, it is not complete or exhaustive. Číst dále →

This overview covers the events in 2015, based on the Annual Report of the Latvian Security Police (DP) , Annual Review of the Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) , and the National Security Threat Assessment of the Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD) . All three reports identify the activity of the Russian government, military, and intelligence services as the primary threat to security and stability in the region. Číst dále →

The research project with the participation of twenty-four experts from the Czech security and intelligence community is answering the question regarding which factors will have the main impact on the European politico-security environment from the perspective of the public interests of the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2019. In the next three years, we expect the most complicated development of the political, social, and security environment in Europe since the past several decades. Číst dále →

A number of critics have disputed the utility of using the term “Islamophobia” and offered a number of arguments for its abandonment. The debate over the existence of the phenomenon of Islamophobia has continued to the present moment and shows no signs of stopping, partly because of the fundamental implications involved in cases where the criminalisation of “Islamophobia” has been introduced into the legal system. As the term is now being used by public institutions even in the Visegrad area, it seems useful to review the way it has been proliferated since the 1990s and assert its utility in light of the arguments brought by its propagators and opponents alike. Číst dále →

The main purpose of Russia’s information campaign, as part of hybrid warfare, is to undermine its opponents. Rather than promoting Russia itself, it seeks to achieve gradual decomposition of the institutional framework and security architecture of Europe. The key targets of the Kremlin’s divide et impera strategy in Central Europe have been the EU and NATO, as well as the United States. At the same time, the mass influx of disinformation often serves Russia directly, presenting it in a positive light at the local level, sometimes even depicting it in the role of the only rational actor, unrecognized or misunderstood peacemaker and saviour.

This data report is published within the framework of the GLOBSEC Policy Institute (GPI) Strategic Communication Initiative, which monitors, analyses and discloses Russian propaganda and its domestic actors in countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In partnership with the Political Capital Institute (Hungary) and European Values (Czech Republic).